Potentially leaving his party in the lurch, Rep. Steven LaTourette (R) of Ohio is set to announce his retirement at the end of this term, the Columbus Dispatch and The Hill newspaper reported Monday evening.

He was a sure thing, in a swing state. Now, the deadline for announcing a candidate for the upcoming race is August 8th. If LaTourette officially announces before then, Republicans are up against a wall. If the official announcement is later, they get to simply choose a replacement candidate. Either way, a swing state loses momentum in a serious way.

I grew up in Ohio, in lots of different places. In this past election, every county I lived in in Ohio… went for Santorum. I’d be happy to see a sea-change in the Buckeye state.

Relationships with Jesus Christ
Are dangerous, not fun;
Your spirit will be tested
Many times, before you’re done;
You’ll have to show devotion
To the Father, Ghost, and Son
And today, you’re being tested…
At the barrel of a gun. [Read more…]

Now, I know there are some FtBers who don’t much care about the Olympics. They are, of course, wrong.

So this is a pro-Olympics thread, where y’all can throw your observations. I’ll also just tuck a little Olympian eye candy in here–I have not yet managed to make it to the Olympic games, but I did race (and lose) at the Olympic stadium. Not an Olympic stadium, the stadium at Olympia. [Read more…]

Courtesy of Ray (rude-ass yankee), the latest pics of the cuttlefish emblem in the wild. After the jump, in deference to those who have them there RSS feeds or whatever. (Ok, the truth is I don’t even know what an RSS feeder is, or even if that is what it is called, and I really don’t know if keeping pics below the jump is helpful to them, but my poor memory tells me that I heard, once upon a time, that it’s the right thing to do. If anyone knows, please let me know, and I will try to do the right thing.) Anyway… [Read more…]